Terrible Moana-torture at sea

[jimmybrnx]

Wonderful, friendly passengers, Duped and Robbed at sea by an Egotistical, Narsisstacal, Neroesque fiddleing foolish owner of this craft who prematurely set sail undermaned, undersupplied ,in a rust bucket that was cooked years ago. I hope it makes itto the Panama canal , but I wonder if they can afford the fees. at Puerto Caldera, please scuttle her and make an artifical reefAnd send the maiden voyage passengers a full REFUND, for being used as Guiena Pigs. I immediately left theTerribe Moana and went on the Windsurf from St. Martin and had a wonderful , forfilling, cruising experience!!Dont go on a $3000.00 per person ripoff Jimmy from Da Bronx

[zqvol]

Wonderful, friendly passengers, Duped and Robbed at sea by an Egotistical, Narsisstacal, Neroesque fiddleing foolish owner of this craft who prematurely set sail undermaned, undersupplied ,in a rust bucket that was cooked years ago. I hope it makes itto the Panama canal , but I wonder if they can afford the fees. at Puerto Caldera, please scuttle her and make an artifical reefAnd send the maiden voyage passengers a full REFUND, for being used as Guiena Pigs. I immediately left theTerribe Moana and went on the Windsurf from St. Martin and had a wonderful , forfilling, cruising experience!!Dont go on a $3000.00 per person ripoff Jimmy from Da Bronx

 

 

Nice first post.:confused: Why don't you tell us what you really think?

[Emdee]

Actually, zqvol, Jimmy is telling us what he thinks. He was very vocal on the cruise as well.

[twin123185]

Just heard from friends aboard the 2nd cruise and they are having a blast understanding issues with new ships. However I also understand with the price paid certain expectations should be met. I had my own PG issues on the first cruise a year ago after refurbishment and yes there were many vocal people but overall we made the best of it and had a blast despite some rough days.

[boolover]

I have been lurking from before the trip. I was hesitate to post but felt that the previous reviews did not reflect my opinions.

 

Pam, Mike and Miriam and their families were all entertained by the owners, who ignored the rest of us. Also, i saw Mike with both Pam and her family and Miriam and hers. Were they in cahoots?

 

This cruise was not five star at all. It was like a holiday inn when I expected an intercontinental. The service left a lot to be desired and there was no entertainment till WE the passengers started singing in the bar and Alex started playing some music later in the cruise.

 

There was a lot of different types of management on board- including those from head office but none of them seemed to care about how we were enjoying our cruise and imagine NO comment card.

 

As per the owners and their friends, they always seemed to stick together. Other than the christening ceremony the owners had no special events with the rest of the passengers.

 

The only good thing I can say was the staff seemed to try except for the travel concierge who knew nothing about the ports we were visiting. The second good part was the rest of the passengers who we bonded with through our common interests and hatred of this cruise.

 

Like Jimmy and Twin I believe we are owed a refund on this cruise. If I were to get one I will use it on PG but never again Tere Moana.

[twin123185]

I was not on your cruise therefore can't comment on refunds!! On our PG cruise a year ago out of Brisbane, at the end of the cruise we were all given $1000 pp vouchers for another cruise either on the PG or TM. Some were happy, others were pissed off big time. I was happy and am using mine on the PG later this year.

[swimmerboy]

While I enjoyed the cruise – it was no way 5 star and did not live up to the expectations it created in advertising. We paid much more than what it was worth. I think we deserve a refund We had to use uncomfortable zodiacs to reach port . The entertainment was non existent. The travel concierge gave inaccurate information and even told us to thumb rides in Ile des Saintes.

 

The food was OK and the people we met made the trip enjoyable.

[trav25]

Those of us who are booked to go on the Tera Mona this year obviously are worried. Those of us who will be the first to go on any new itinerary, now are really worried. Our excursions aren't up the way the Dec. 29 cruise was not up until late. The thrill we were anticipating has now changed to thinking we made a serious mistake.

 

I'm glad for the candid views of all of you. I know this, it seems no one was getting off thrilled the way we did in FP. So the understanding is that the cruise will not be first class (except for perhaps food), not be up to mediocre standards for service (but got better) and the shore port drop off and excursions were not up to par at all.

 

So we are going and spending money.....why?

 

My fear too is that some of you are not trying to discourage us because you want some future benefit or because you are being told it was only like this on the first one and all will be well.

[Tikiintahiti]

I remember getting a room at the Madalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas on their opening week. It was a big mess.

 

They had given the same room to tow couples us being one of them. Lets just say the 2nd couple arrived at the room for the 1st time while the mrs and I were getting frisky.

 

The management comped us a corner suit at the top for our 'moment' of surprise. We went to the new room only to find plastic wrap on all the furniture except the bed. Yup, we were the '1st' to have our way with the room. We said nothing as the room was a $750 a night room that we had gotten for our $129 bucks. Who cares about the plastic wrap when you have view we did .......... incredible.

 

The point I'm making is big problems can happen on opening weeks no matter if your the Mandalay Bay or PG Cruises. It is a lesson to be learned for sure not to be the '1st' to experience something new.

 

We are to go on the new ship in December this year and my guess everything will be just fine ............

 

When you have lemons, make lemonaide ;)

[boolover]

A lot of what we experienced i would expect they are not going to improve simply because they can't. There isn't enough staff on board to provide a 5 star experience. A similar competitor in size, Seadream has 92 staff for 112 guests, while this ship has 60 for 90 guests.

 

1) They charged for Grey Goose- something free on all luxury lines.

2) They had no cold drinks or shade at the tender stations- something found on seabourn, pg, regent, azamara, etc.

3) The stablizers can only be fixed after a dry dock (not going to happen till at least after 1 year since they have booked cruises for the next year unless they cancel some cruises)

4) Tender times changed when they felt like it. A tender would leave 10 minutes early from port when it wasn't full.

5) Unlike Seabourn, Windstar and Clipper (all at the same ports) There wasn't dedicated staff to help passengers out of the zodiacs and sometimes passengers were forced to help each other (They needed at least 3 people- as we saw the other ship tenders had- two to steady the boat and the other to help passengers)

6) There was no music during the day- anywhere

7) All the toilets had a smell when opened

8) No help with hand baggage off the ship (on a steep gangplank)- no luxury line is like this and even premium and some mid-market lines offer this

9) Dessert choices were limited

10) Room Service is not 24 hours as advertised and no plans to change this

11) Long tenders and no docking- even when other ships such as Seabourn docked

12) Limited hours of dining - 7:30am to 9am and 12pm-1:30pm

13) The bar closed at 11:00pm till we all protested and then closed around 2am

14) Nobody ever offered to take a plate even though the wait staff stood by chatting to each other- this is something I have experienced on both luxury and premium lines.

15) No alternative dining at night- when they could have opened La Veranda as an alternative restaurant. Instead only a select few were invited to La Veranda at night.

 

The staff gelling is expected and will improve and food is subjective but some of things above are not going to be addressed due to lack of staff and investment in the ship. I am not saying people may not enjoy their cruise however we were angry that we paid prices similar to Seabourn for an inferior product.

[twin123185]

I was on the 2nd ever Azamara cruise back in 2005 - it sucked - food, service but we made do and had a good time and now I hear they are very very good. I have high hopes for the TM.

[boolover]

Twin, while I understand about 2 cruise problems. Azamara actually had lack lustre reviews the first few years it was in business. RCCL figured out they could not manage the product and therefore brought in a cruise line industry veteran, Larry Pimentel in 2009. The product has only improved under his guidance and now is getting glowing reviews.

[Tikiintahiti]

Lets see how things settle down over the coming months. I guess is it will get much better.

 

BTW, SeaDream is ranked above TM and has a slightly bigger price tag. Does TM have a bunch of things to fix? Well yes but I'm not expecting 6 star or 5.5 star on a 5 star ship but as I said the TM has some fixing to do.

 

Believe me, if things don't get better quickly I'll drop my reservation and just hang in Saint Martin for 10 days. I have until early September to cancel if they don't get things right over the coming weeks and months.

 

But as I said I think they will get things ship shape quickly .......

[Emdee]

I have been lurking from before the trip. I was hesitate to post but felt that the previous reviews did not reflect my opinions.

 

Pam, Mike and Miriam and their families were all entertained by the owners, who ignored the rest of us. Also, i saw Mike with both Pam and her family and Miriam and hers. Were they in cahoots?

 

This cruise was not five star at all. It was like a holiday inn when I expected an intercontinental. The service left a lot to be desired and there was no entertainment till WE the passengers started singing in the bar and Alex started playing some music later in the cruise.

 

 

.

 

While I agree with some of your sentiments let me tell you that I am my own person and in cahoots with nobody. Mike & myself were the only two on the roll call and anticipated the cruise together so naturally we would get together a bit on the cruise.

 

Please read my good , bad and ugly posting where I have clearly delineated what I felt about the cruise. Yes all my opinions may not agree with yours or those of others but they remain my opinions.

[jimmybrnx]

The pinnacle of my cruising (39) experiences, was the PG in 2008. Along with 10 friends we did the 14 day to all the greatness of FP and the friendliness, warmth and truly 5 star service was exhibited by all including crew and officers.

On board your wish was anyones command and served rapidly and with a smile, maids , bartenders, Gauguin Girls, etc.. just an impeccable wonderous journey. If only the Richard Bailey crowd had removed their rose colored glasses, and seen the weariness of the understaffed overworked crew, or the inabilities of some of the willing help, who it seems were pressed into service, by virtue of having two arms and legs but no bartendering knowledge or speed. HELLO! To receive beer or soda in your room fridge, use the repeat begging method, one small maple syrup holder at breakfast, passed from table to table usually by passengers HELLO! we are talking 90 high paying clients. The first day, passenger next to my room standing in the corridor with the room safe in his hands!! Richards remark to me Oh ! I dont know if mine is attached to the wall either (smile) .There is a book called Ship of Fools, and at the top RB and the Gauguin crowd did a misservice and injustice to the people of the Tere Moana first sailing, passengers and crew!! Jimmy from Da bronx

[paulmichael]

While I agree with some of your sentiments let me tell you that I am my own person and in cahoots with nobody. Mike & myself were the only two on the roll call and anticipated the cruise together so naturally we would get together a bit on the cruise.

 

Please read my good , bad and ugly posting where I have clearly delineated what I felt about the cruise. Yes all my opinions may not agree with yours or those of others but they remain my opinions.

 

Thanks, Uriah and I are still on board, and yes some things, big things need work, we are having a blast !!!!! we are working with what we have and enjoying each day.

 

Last night was not so good, ROCK AND ROCK AND ROLL, but we had a great dinner and for us service was good. others had some problems but I don't know how anyone one can serve in this weather.

 

I came of this crusie because I love to cruise and was well aware of what sailing on a new ship may be like. Yes it's not perfect and a lot of details need to be worked out, but we are having a great time working with the staff to make it work. Please remember that the staff is reading all of postings and moral is down due to it.

 

lets give them time. I will post after I get home..

 

Mike and Uriah

[Familygoboston]

Just catching up...very concerned, but not surprised, based on the reviews we've read so far. Now I have concerns about booking PG in FP...if this ship is flop, there may be business reasons to be concerned about ones deposit or the quality of the cruise if cost cutting starts happening. I think there needs to be an official response soon!

 

I must stand up for Emdee, and all regulars who post honestly. From my reading Miriam has been honest with us about the problems, and I think she's been pretty clear that while she is friendly with staff and officers, she won't allow herself to be bought.

That might not be true with everyone on CC or any user generated review site. I've been looking for boutique hotels in Miami and the reviews are so all over the place from "Excellent" - to the "mill review writers" fave red herring..."I found a hair in my bed". It's obvious that these small hotels are in a battle to make it to the "top" of the listings and employ folks to review for them or against the competitor. So I always read reviews with a jaundiced eye.

 

But if you've been here a while you learn who can be trusted based on their honest assessments over a period of years. We all want our favorite places and lines to succeed, but that's different from taking compensation to write positively!

 

To the OP- I'm sorry your cruise didn't work out. I would have done as you did and tried to salvage my vacation.

[Emdee]

Thanks for your vote of confidence Family!

 

I too hope that the issues on this ship will not effect the PG. I respect that they didnt break up the PG crew and bring them over for the reason that they are an excellent working group and they didnt want to upset the crew dynamics. I felt sad that they didnt have any PG staff but later understood the reason.

 

If you are at all concerned about any cruiseline flopping then you should buy insurance to cover it when booking. I always make sure I do. I do however think that the PG will stand or fall on its own regardless of how TM does. It is a unique one of a kind product. To be fair to current owners they have tried to retain the essence of the PG product since the purchase. In fact going over my various PG cruises the low point was when Vantage was holding the purse strings and there was a general deterioration I think it was Dec 2005 trip. My 2010 trip was close to the top. Of course nothing can beat the memories of my first PG trip.

 

In any event I will be posting on my PG cruise next week!

[Emdee]

I still think that the TM will and can succeed. However, it will have to succeed as either a 4 star ship or an expedition ship given the size of the staterooms and the facilities ( no hairdresser no self service laundry etc etc). However, with increased staffing and a more focused vision of where they want to be in the cruising space it could be a very successful ship.

 

For example the hated ( by me) Zodiacs could become a plus if they could take one to beaches and areas not usually reached. In Virgin Gorda - there was the prickly Pear beach waiting for us but no we were taken to Bitterend ( which wasnt bad...). They could have taken us to the Baths in the morning and made zodiac landings directly on the beach moving the ship to the other side afternoon but that wasnt done. Why did we have to go to the commercial port Zante when we should have been taken to Nevis - I have been dying to see the Four Seasons beach there!.

 

I think the PTB have to huddle together and bring focus to what they are doing with the TM. If the itineraries are unusual and not just copied from other lines they can make something special of this ship. Unusual itineraries and good lecturers can replace 'luxury' elements..... just my 5 cents ( inflation has hit).

 

While on board I discussed with Captain Zupan a possible repeaters cruise in Croatia - he had wonderful ideas like a truffle hunting excursion and visits to relatively unknown wineries. He also told me of a special excursion that can be done in Venice area at spring where you actually go to pick asparagus. I think this type of cruise would be on the right track. A number of the cruisers on board the TM were experienced cruisers - Jimmy has 39 down we are at about 50 and I am sure Michael has a substantial number done. After the usual ports and the same old same old it would be wonderful to have a cruise line which could focus on something else other than the usual.

[ducklite]

3) The stablizers can only be fixed after a dry dock (not going to happen till at least after 1 year since they have booked cruises for the next year unless they cancel some cruises)

 

There is a charter later this year which might not happen due to pending bankruptcy by the owners of the company. The financial issues seem to be more with a sister company, but they burned both Windstar and the PG and it's quite possible that upcoming charters for the sister organization will get pulled by the cruise lines. Time will tell.

[frequent traveler]

I've been lurking on this board since I am a former Sea Dream Yacht Club Addict who will be giving the Moana a try in the Greek Islands. A couple of notes about SD. It too upcharges for Grey Goose. Drove me crazy until they put Ketel One back on the included list.

 

SD also tenders to most ports in the Caribbean. I don't believe it's cost effective for these yacht size vessels to pay the fees to dock. I personally prefer zodiacs to tenders but understand why others don't. But I agree , regardless of which vessel is used, passengers must be assisted - there's tremendous liability there.

 

On recent SD voyages staffing to guest ratios have not be met, usually due to a staff member deciding last minute not to return or a new staff member not working out

 

It sounds like the staff on board is improving . I don't understand management charging full price for the opening voyages and I certainly don't understand decision to sail without working stabilizers. I don't understand how they passed inspection

 

FT

[trav25]

There is a charter later this year which might not happen due to pending bankruptcy by the owners of the company. The financial issues seem to be more with a sister company, but they burned both Windstar and the PG and it's quite possible that upcoming charters for the sister organization will get pulled by the cruise lines. Time will tell.

 

This message seems pretty cryptic. Charter by which company? Sister company? Burned Windstar and PG? What are you talking about?

[trav25]

To be honest, the free flow of opinions is actually reassuring. No one wants to upset the crew for goodness sake!!!

 

If the owners of the company are reading perhaps they can address serious issues ( not having Grey Goose seems trivial to us) like stabilizers and port issues. The rest can be taken care of. With wonderful food and service getting better, I'm good to put in my iPod for music. Stabilizers make the trip much more enjoyable and fabulous ports with lectures are why we booked along with the small cruise experience.

[zqvol]

The only ships that are comparable in size to the TM are the Sea Dream twins. They operate pretty much like the TM has been described. Lots of tenders, only rarely do they dock. No onboard entertainment. No planned activities. Ships this small are just not capable of having all of these amenities.

 

Food is another thing all together, but it sounds like that is coming around.

 

As far as rocking and rolling, it is probably not a issue with the stabilizers so much as it is an issue with the size of the ship, and nothing is going to change that issue. I have been bounced out of bed more than once on Sea Dream, and we have rocked and rolled all over the Caribbean. If the seas are calm these small ships ride great, but if the seas are rough, or if there is a swell you are in for a rough ride.

 

It seems to me that for people who are used to the PG or other large ships to fully enjoy the TM, they may have to adjust their expectations, the key will be is the food and service up to the appropriate standards.

[ducklite]

This message seems pretty cryptic. Charter by which company? Sister company? Burned Windstar and PG? What are you talking about?

 

I'm not sure we're supposed to mention charter companies by name, so here goes what I think I can say and stay with in guidelines.

 

A charter company took final payment on an April wine cruise on the PG on November 30th. On December 15th they cancelled a different wine cruise on a Windstar ship citing "contractual disputes" and gave no refunds of the approximately 50% that customers had paid towards their cruise. On December 31st they sent a letter stating that the paid in full (by cruisers) cruise on the PG would not be happening because the charter company was going to declare bankruptcy.

 

The owners of the wine charter company own another charter company that manages alternate adult lifestyle trips. There are two booked on the PG and one on the Moana this year. It is my understanding from an intimately involved third party that there might be legal action against the assets of the sister company due to the millions of dollars that the wine charter company has taken without delivering a cruise by any number of different creditors.